MUNCIE, Ind. — To cut costs, financially recovering Muncie Community Schools is ending yellow school bus service (except for special education students) to and from Northside and Southside middle schools.

As a school-district partner, the Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS) is stepping forward to transport those students, beginning Monday.

But that will require Northside students to change buses in the morning and again in the afternoon at the downtown MITS bus station — something that's never been done before en masse.

Northside children will be greeted at the downtown transfer station Monday morning, the first day of school, with welcome signs, balloons, extra security and Ball State University volunteers, who will ride along.

"We are providing a couple of officers and the school is providing a couple of officers both in the morning and afternoon, and Ball State is providing student volunteers to ride with the kids," MITS General Manager Larry King told The Star Press. "In the morning, kids are usually sleepy enough they don't cause much problem. After school they can become more rowdy. Most regular bus riders know that's not a good time to travel."

For years, Northside students have been banned from MITS buses right after school because of a prior history of rowdyism.

King said disorderly conduct will not be tolerated. He told The Star Press that children on MITS buses have to behave as well or better than kids on yellow school buses. Those who don't will be banned.

"We have a code we expect all customers to live by," King said. "We have radio communication and cameras and can identify a problem child or problem children … "

Elementary-school students will continue to be transported on yellow school buses operated by Auxilio, the school district's second-year bus contractor.

At the last school board meeting, King mentioned that MITS had experienced problems years ago when some Northside students would cross the street after school and board at a bus stop.

As a result, MITS imposed a one-hour travel ban prohibiting Northside students from boarding MITS buses between 3:05 p.m. and 4 p.m. That ban has remained in effect.

A Northside parent complained about the policy to The Star Press in the winter of 2014, saying that his daughter was not a disciplinary problem so she should be allowed on board.

"It's guilt by association," King told The Star Press at the time. "We've had severe disciplinary problems with students who elect to ride the buses after school. They're very disruptive on the bus, discourteous to other passengers. We have even had passengers being touched and so forth. It's a very busy route."

MITS had to send security after one driver told students they were not allowed on board. "They got very hostile, vocal and obscene," said King, who called middle school "a very difficult age," especially when pack mentality sets in.

No such after-school ban has been needed for Southside students.

Logistically, with MITS taking over, it will now be necessary for Northside students to change buses downtown before and after school.

The normal layout of routes makes it possible for MITS to bus students to and from Central High School and Southside without any downtown transfers. That's not the case with Northside because of its location in relation to routes, which can't be changed just to accommodate Northside students due to federal regulations.

Buses can deliver students to and from the front doors of Northside via the downtown transfer station, however. To get between downtown and Northside, students will take the bus route that serves Walmart north.

In the morning, middle school students will need to go to the nearest MITS bus stop along the route closest to their home. MITS buses also stop for students (and any other passengers) at any street intersection on a route.

Other behavioral problems surfaced several years ago when Central students started walking to the downtown MITS station after school instead of boarding MITS buses right at the school.

"We had large numbers from Central walk to the downtown transfer primarily to hook up with friends," King said. "We started charging them a fare to discourage them from coming down. That took care of the problem. All kids ride free with the exception of the downtown area from 3 to 4:30 p.m. That's still in effect."

King had no estimate of the number of Northside students who will ride the bus. Last year's Northside enrollment was 572.

Elementary school 'bone of contention'

At the latest school board meeting, Auxilio predicted the no-transportation zones — one mile around elementary schools — would be "a bone of contention" again this year.

The Star Press already has received one complaint from a parent who said walking alone nearly a mile to school is too far for an elementary school child. The school district says parents are responsible for taking their children to school within a no-transportation zone.

In selected areas of a non-transportation zone, pickup/drop-off spots may be provided, generally in areas where students would have to cross heavily traveled streets and/or railroad crossings.

The school district expects some transportation hiccups at the start of the school year but nothing like the fiasco last year that forced schools to close for two days. The district hired an in-house bus coordinator and fired its routing consultant after last year's failure.

Important telephone numbers:

Muncie Indiana Transit System: (765) 289-MITS, for middle and high school transportation questions.